Author: Julie Mack
Email: mackteach@aol.com
Rated: PG-13
Jimmy slowed as he neared the partly open supply room door. As he listened more intently, a wide grin came over his face.
“Oh, go ahead…..”
“I’m not so sure….”
“Go ahead. Touch it. You know you want to.”
Jimmy wasn’t exactly sure what the conversation was all about, but he certainly wasn’t leaving right now!
“I don’t know, Clark….it’s just so….”
Clark sighed. “I know, honey, but trust me. It won’t break.”
“Jimmy!”
Jimmy turned around and quick shushed his editor in chief. Whispering, he motioned Perry over. “Chief. Ya gotta hear this….”
Perry sauntered over, a bit perturbed. “Now, Jimmy. What’s so interesting in the supply…..” His voice trailed off as he listened to the conversation inside.
“Are you sure, Clark?”
“Absolutely. It’s never broken before. It’ll be OK. Touch it.”
Jimmy and Perry both held their breaths, mentally urging Lois to touch……it.
“Gee. That’s not at all what I thought it would feel like…..”
“Different, isn’t it?”
“Very. Can I touch it again?”
Jimmy and Perry heard Clark’s soft chuckle. “Sure, honey. It likes to be touched….”
There was silence before Lois spoke again. “It’s kinda warm. And slippery too. I wonder how it gets like that…”
Perry could swear he heard Clark shrug off the question. “I don’t know. It just kinda does that on its own.”
“With no prompting?”
“Well, it has to be touched first…..”
“Lemme touch it again…..”
That was it. Perry had heard enough. He loudly cleared his throat. Stepping a bit away from Jimmy, he bellowed in a voice that could be heard all the way down in the microfilm room. “Has anyone seen two investigative reporters???”
Jimmy jumped at the sound of Perry’s voice, and guiltily moved away from the supply room.
Lois looked out the door and walked up to Perry. “I’m right here, Perry. What’s going on?”
Perry glared at Lois. He also noticed that there wasn’t a stitch of clothing out of place. And her hair was perfectly coiffed. “Where’s that husband of yours?”
“Clark?”
“Do you have any other husbands?”
Lois frowned in curiosity and gestured behind her. “He’s in the supply room. Why? Perry, what is this all about?”
They both turned to see Clark emerge from the supply room. “Looking for me, Chief?”
Perry was confused. As Jimmy walked up to join them, Perry couldn’t help but notice that Clark was his usual impeccably dressed self. He turned on his heel and muttered. “In my office. All of you.”
Lois and Clark were confused. Jimmy grinned slyly at Clark and elbowed him in the side. “Next time, CK, close the door to the supply room. My man!” Jimmy chuckled and preceded the couple into Perry’s office.
Lois and Clark paused and looked at each other.
“The supply closet?” Lois looked back towards it, realization hitting her. “Clark, you don’t think…..?”
Clark grinned, remembering their conversation. “I think that’s exactly what THEY think, honey.”
Lois took a deep breath and entered Perry’s office. Sitting down on the couch, she began. “Perry, it’s not what you think….”
Perry paced the office like a caged bear. “Lois, don’t say a word. I’ve seen a lot of things in my 30-some years in the newspaper business. Heck, I’ve DONE a lot of things in my 30-some years. But, I have never, EVER done what you two ….”
Clark interrupted. “But, Perry….If we could just explain….”
Perry paused in his pacing and stared at Clark. “Son, you don’t need to explain. I know that you two are newlyweds and I forgive and overlook at lot of things between you two. But I can’t do it this time.”
Clark glanced at Lois in helplessness. She whispered to him, “Let him vent. It’s the only way.” Clark nodded his agreement. Lois sat back into the couch as Perry continued.
“I swear sometimes I think I need to turn the fire hose on you two!” He turned to glare as Jimmy started to chuckle. Jimmy clamped his hand over his mouth, his eyes smiling with laughter. Clark caught his look and grinned weakly back.
“When we advertised you two as the ‘hottest team in town,’ I never thought that you’d take me seriously. There’s a time and place for everything, kids. And the workplace is NOT the place. Heck, even Elvis knew when to leave Priscilla alone.”
Lois bit her inner cheek to keep from smiling. She had never seen Perry this worked up. She tried again. “Perry. You’ve got it all wrong. Trust me.”
Perry stared at her, his arms crossed. “Oh really? I didn’t hear what I heard between you two in the supply closet?”
“Well, yes, you did.”
“Ah ha!”
“But, it’s not how it sounds.” She looked at Clark. “Jump in here anytime you feel like it, Clark.”
Clark smiled. “You’re doing just fine, sweetheart. Go ahead.”
Lois threw Clark a look that said she would get even with him. Clark looked at her with love in his eyes.
She tried again. “OK, Perry. You’re right. It did sound like it sounded, but it wasn’t about that.”
Jimmy was trying to follow Lois’s explanation. “I don’t get it.”
In exasperation, Lois’s voice grew louder. “We weren’t doing it in the supply room!”
She looked to Perry and Jimmy and saw that they didn’t believe her. A movement to her side caught her attention. She turned toward the office windows and saw a group of people curiously looking in. At Lois’s glance, they all hurriedly left, leaving only
Ralph to leer at her, his hands moving in the age-old gesture “naughty, naughty.”
Her cheeks grew warm with embarrassment. She turned once again to Clark.
Seeing his wife’s distress, Clark finally spoke up. “It’s true, Perry. We’re a lot more professional. We wouldn’t do it in the supply room.”
Lois’s sigh of relief turned to a gasp of surprise at Clark’s next words. “Now in the dark room…..”
Perry looked to both of them. Finally he grinned. “Ok, then. If you weren’t doing what Jimmy and I and the entire editorial section thinks you were doing, what WERE you doing? And more importantly, Lois, WHAT were you touching?”
Clark grinned. “I was showing Lois this.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a round object.
Jimmy and Perry leaned forward. “What is it?”
Almost in a reverent whisper, Lois explained. “It’s a globe from Krypton, Superman’s home world. He gave it to us for safe keeping. Clark was showing it to me.”
As they watched in wonder, the globe began to glow and slowly lifted from Clark’s outstretched palm.
“Wow,” was all Jimmy could say. Without thinking, he started to reach out for it. He quickly withdrew his hand and looked at Clark.
Clark smiled. “It’s ok, Jimmy. Superman said that it would do this once in a while. It won’t hurt you. Go ahead and touch it.”
Jimmy tentatively touched the glowing globe with a finger. “Gee, it’s….”
“Warm and slippery feeling all at the same time?”
Jimmy turned to Lois and saw her smiling lopsidedly at him. He had the good grace to look embarrassed and grinned back at her. “Yeah, what you said, Lois.”
Perry continued to stare at the globe. “So, this is what you were showing Lois?”
Clark nodded. “Uh huh. Superman said that the globe has given him all the information that it could for now. And he didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands. So he gave it to us for safe keeping.”
Lois rushed in to further explain. “He also said that since we’re such close friends with him, that the globe would probably react to our touch. Especially Clark’s.”
Clark turned and smiled warmly at Lois. “But remember, honey. When you touch it, the glow is a bit more intense.”
The double meaning behind Clark’s words weren’t lost on Lois. She smiled back softly and mouthed “later” to him. His eyes told her that he would hold her to that promise.
The globe stopped glowing and settled back into Clark’s hand. Perry cleared his throat. “Well, now that THAT has been settled, why don’t we see if we can get some work done around here.”
Clark replaced the globe in his coat pocket. “Before that, Perry, we need to take the globe to a safe place.” He winked at Lois.
“Oh right. OK, you two. Go. Take care of business. The paper is ready to go out.”
Lois and Clark left his office. Perry and Jimmy stood in the doorway and watched the couple enter the elevator. As the door closed, they smiled as they saw the two embrace and kiss.
“Y’know, Jimmy. I don’t think that we’re hearing the whole story about that supply room.”
“And I don’t think we ever will, Chief.”
“You’re probably right, son. Come on. We’ve got a paper to get out.”
THE END